The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-10-15
IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL s.

IoISOns
1t was long step in advance whei
steps were taken in many States t.
teach in the public schools the effect.
of alcohol and other narcotic poison,
upon the human system The amour
OF popular ignorance upon this subiec
is frightful While the terrible result.
are acknowledged which follow the
drinking of what are known as ''hard'
drinks-distilled liquors, such a.
whisky, brandy, gin, etc. there i.
popular belief that it is only from
drinking them to excess, and that il
more moderate quantities they are
comparatively harmless; while the
error is well-nigh universal that ''soft'
drinks-wine, beer, ale, etc. are moi
only not injurious, but healthful anG
nourishing.
1here never was q greater error
NO matter what form of rum is used
whether the drink be "hard' or s.soft'
whether it be wine, or fermented
cider, or beer-the reason il i,
swallowed is because of the exhilarat.
ing effects which follow. These effects
are caused by the alcohol which they
contain. In cider and the various
wines, there are fruit acids, etc, which
1mpart taste which is agreeable tc
some; but, all the same alcohol is the
active agent, and were it removed en-
tirely from these compounds, no one
would think of drinking the nauseous
Stops that would remain. Now, what
Is this alcohol, whose subtitle influence
causes all spirituous, vinous or malt
liquors to be drank?
Alcoholis alimpid, colorless LIQUID, of
hot taste, which can only be obtained
by the fermentation of sugar or some
substance containing sugar. 1t is not
produced in nature. Neither the
grape, the apple, nor any other fruit;
neither rye, corn, barley, nor any 9TH
er grain, contains one atom of it. But
when the fruit-cells of the grape or the
apple are crushed and the Juice ex-
tracted, chemical process, called fer
mentation, sets up, whereby tie sugar
in these juices is split up into alcohol
and carhonic acid, the latter escaping
as a gas. When barley, OF rye or corn
is fermented, the starch which they
contain is first turned, by an analo-
gous process, into sugar, and then al
cohol is produced, by continuation
of the process, from the sugar.
In its effects upon the human svs-
TEN alcohol is narcotic poison. 1t is
not food in any respect. 1t is indi-
gestible. Itcan not be built into bone
or tissue. The only thing the body
can do with alcohol is to get rid of it.
1t is largely thrown off by the lungs, as
any one can believe who has come with
i'll smelling distance of the drinker. 1t
passes through the skin, and works its
way to every part of the body, and a
portion of it passes to the brain, de-
ranging the action of that organ, and
producing a species of insanity.
When the alcohol reaches the brain
of course it is closely shut in, and, as
it can not pass rapidly through the
skull it is more likely to remain in the
brain than in any other part of the
body, and here it does its most deadly
work
The brain, when healthy, is so soft
that it would not retain its shape but
for the skull. The sharpest knife is
required to cut it without mangline
its structure. 1t is necessary to i'm
merse the organ in alcohol for some
time in order to harden it, when a
careful examination is essential. A
drunkard's brain presents a contrast.
tits already hardened, picked almost.
In the dissectlng room it affords rare
pleasure to medical student to Sc
cure the dissected brain of an old
topper. A celebrated anatomist said
that he could tell drunkard's brain
in the dark, by the sense of touch
alone. A London physician reported
n case in which he found, upon MAX
ing a post-mortem examination, so
strong an odor of alcohol emanatino
ii jim AiC VI dIh lhstV Hc dDDlleu
match to it, when it burst into flame.
The quantity of alcohol in the brain is
sometimes so great that it can be col
lected by distillation after death.
1t must not be supposed that every
drunkard's brain is as hard as a
picked one; but it may be fairly sup
posed that the hardening effect of al
cohol has no little influence 10 the pro-
duction of degeneration of the brain,
such us results in varions forms OF
progressive paralysis. Numerous func.
tional disorders of the brain are also
traced to the habitual use of alcoholic
liquors. Locomotor ataxia, an almost
hopeless malady, involving the brain
and spinal cord, is very often the re-
suit of intemperance.
When alcohol is taken into the stom-
ach it is absorbed and goes unchanged
into the circulation. The heart, irri-
tated by its presence, beats faster, and
drives the blood more quickly through
the arteries. Every oxcretorY organ